Jazz great Louis Armstrong's love letters to his mistress and secret lovechild are among the items from the musician's archive that will be auctioned off in Los Angeles in December.

Profiles in History boss Joe Maddalena recently announced Armstrong's personal letters would be up for grabs at the Drama, Action, Romance - The Hollywood Auction on December 15th and 16th, alongside correspondence from John Lennon, Cole Porter and composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and now it's clear the What a Wonderful World hit-maker's items are a treasure trove of secret notes.

A spokesperson for the au...

Hell raiser Iggy Pop is deserting his rock roots to record an album of jazz songs.

The Stooges frontman claims he is "sick" of uninspiring guitar music, and is embracing a new musical direction inspired by the mellow tones of American music great Louis Armstrong for his new album Preliminaires.

Pop reveals, "It's a quieter album with some jazz overtones. That's because at one point I just got sick of listening to idiot thugs with guitars, banging out crappy music. And I was starting to listen to a lot of New Orleans-era Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton-type of jazz."

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As 007 fans eagerly await the November 14 U.S. opening of MGM's new James Bond film, Quantum Of Solace, Capitol/EMI announced that an expanded CD, CD/DVD and digital release of 'The Best Of Bond… James Bond' was released on October 28. The CD and digital album both feature 23 musical standouts from the Bond franchise's 46 years plus a previously unreleased bonus track, and the CD/DVD includes five music videos, a filmed concert performance and more.

Sheena Easton "For Your Eyes Only":

Just as James Bond has evolved over time, so have the films' memorable themes. 'Th...

On October 14, 2008 Sony BMG Masterworks released Kristin Chenoweth's new Christmas CD A Lovely Way To Spend Christmas. For her third album, Chenoweth covers a wide range of Christmas songs from "Christmas Island," popularized by The Andrew's Sisters to Kristin's personal favorite "Come On Ring Those Bells."

Recorded at Capitol Recording Studio's legendary Studios A & B where Sinatra, Judy Garland and Nat King Cole all etched their Christmas standards, A Lovely Way To Spend Christmas is an eclectic combination of full orchestral arrangements, along with big band, a bit of tropical isla...

Forest Whitaker is delighted to land the lead role in a new Louis Armstrong biopic after winning the approval of the late star's estate.

The actor will play the legendary jazz musician in the upcoming movie and will also direct the picture.

He says, "Armstrong left a monumental mark on our lives and our culture. He lived an amazing life and, through his art, shifted the way music was played and would be heard after him, not just here in the U.S. but all over the world."

Armstrong died of a heart attack in 1971.

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Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson hates listening to rap songs - because the lyrics depress him.

The California Girls hitmaker has famously battled depression and mental illness throughout his life.

And he insists one way he avoids falling back into the pit of despair that engulfed him for the entire 1970s is to only listen to "happy" music.

Wilson says, "I don't have one (a favorite rap song). I don't need to listen to music that brings me down with negative thoughts. I prefer to listen to music that makes me happy, like my new album That Lucky Old Sun which was inspired by Mr....

The event was simply billed as "Willie Nelson Sings the Blues," but the historic two-night stand on January 12 and 13, 2007 at Jazz at Lincoln Center was far more than that. Call it a summit meeting between two American icons, Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis, two of the most significant figures in modern-day country and jazz, who discovered common ground in their love for jazz standards and the blues. Their performance stirred the sounds of New Orleans, Nashville, Austin and New York City into a brilliantly programmed mix that was equal parts down-home and cosmopolitan, with plenty of swing...

This time of year is consumed with unanswered questions in a myriad of fields. Who will be the Democratic nominee? Who will win the NBA's MVP award? When will The Office come back? I feel that it is my duty to put at least one national existential crisis at rest - what am I listening to these days on my iPod. Moreover, I feel that I owe it to my most devoted fans, my mom and dad, to keep the public up to date on those tunes that reverberate in my ear drums.

Devendra Banhart - Lover

This song is great to listen to while driving in the car with the windows open and speeding down an...

The world's best-selling multi-artist album series, NOW That's What I Call Music!, rings in the holiday season with the digital release debut of two of its multi-platinum holiday collections, NOW That's What I Call Christmas! Vol. 1 and NOW That's What I Call Christmas! Vol. 2, and the digital return of last year's NOW That's What I Call Christmas! Vol. 3. Now all three of NOW's festive 36-track holiday collections are now available for purchase from most major digital service providers.

NOW's Christmas volumes present the most comprehensive collections of holiday favorites from the su...

In addition to The War soundtrack album - an eclectic mix of vintage era jazz, pop singers of the time, contemporary classical recordings, plus three previously unreleased performances by Wynton Marsalis and a previously unreleased performance by Norah Jones - Legacy will also issue three companion collections:

-Sentimental Journey: Hits From The Second World War: 20 tracks starring Frank Sinatra, the Mills Brothers, and the orchestras of Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Teddy Wilson, and others, with vo...

Last spring, VH1 expanded its successful "You Oughta Know" new music promotion franchise to concert halls across the country with its first-ever "You Oughta Know" tour featuring Mat Kearney and special guests The Feeling and Rocco Deluca & The Burden. The tour was a hit and VH1 is proud to give the ladies a turn this time with the second YOK tour featuring Brandi Carlile with special guest A Fine Frenzy.

A Fine Frenzy is the music of 22 year-old Alison Sudol. Born in Seattle to dramatic-arts teacher parents, she developed a strong love for the fantastic literary worlds of CS Lewis, Cha...

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Art Davis, the renowned double bassist who played with John Coltrane and other jazz greats, has died. He was 73.

Davis died of a heart attack Sunday at his home in Long Beach, his son Kimaili Davis told the Los Angeles Times for a story in Saturday's editions.

Davis was blacklisted in the 1970s for speaking up about racism in the music industry, then later earned a doctorate in clinical psychology and balanced performance dates with appointments to see patients.

''He was adventurous with his approach to playing music,'' said pianist Nate Morgan, who ...

Happy Birthday to Happy Birthday to Disney Channel twins Cole and Dylan Sprouse (1992), NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (1971), actor Michael DeLuise (1970), "Lost" actor Daniel Dae Kim (1968), New York Yankees pitching ace Roger Clemens (1962), film star Billy Bob Thornton (1955), "Law & Order: SVU" actor Richard Belzer (1944), American composer William Schuman (1910; d. 1992), and trumpet legend Louis Armstrong (1901; d. 1971).

The eagerly anticipated release of the second series of Jazz Icons(TM) DVDs is here. Reelin' In The Years Productions and Naxos are proud to announce the September 4, 2007 release of the next seven titles in the illustrious DVD series featuring performances by John Coltrane, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery, and Charles Mingus.

Filmed in Europe between 1958 and 1966, this set of Jazz Icons(TM) DVDs features concerts by seven of the most influential jazz artists of the 20th century captured in their prime and accompanied by some of the most leg...

Jazz great Danny Barcelona lost his battle against cancer at the beginning on the month. He was 77. The drummer was Louis Armstrong's longtime percussionist, who toured the world as a member of the singer/trumpeter's All Stars and appeared on hit tracks like Hello Dolly and What A Wonderful World. Dubbed 'the little Hawaiian boy,' Barcelona featured on more than 130 Armstrong recordings.

His Stomping At The Savoy drum solo ended many of Armstrong's live shows.

As well as backing Armstrong, Barcelona, a self-taught drummer, also formed his own group, the Hawaiian Dixie All Stars, w...

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters hits cinemas April 13 and if you're like me, you gotta wonder what the four main characters of rock to in their boom boxes. What follows is an odd eclectic mix of tunes - from Carl's big hair rock to Master Shake's collection of tunes about promiscuous women.

Carl:

Jailbreak - AC/DC

If you go to jail, why stay there? Get some friends with guns and dynamite to get you out.

Mr. Roboto - Styx

There's more to this song than meets the eye. He's like, in this jail for kick ass rockers, and he kills this robot and hides inside th...

Rare 1940s Music Videos Of Legendary Jazz, Swing, And Big Band Artists Unearthed And Restored In "Soundies: A Musical History"

Before MTV, there were 'Soundies.' First appearing in 1941, these three-minute "music videos" played in famous nightclubs and restaurants everywhere, featuring many of the legendary musicians of that era and of all time. For the price of 10 cents, audiences enjoyed artists such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway all viewed through a special machine called a 'Panoram,' or movie jukebox. Not only were these unique class...

Columbia Records will release "Oh, My NOLA," the new album of New Orleans-inspired music from Harry Connick, Jr., on Tuesday, January 30. On the same day, Marsalis Music/Rounder Records will release a companion album of instrumentals by Connick's big band, "Chanson du Vieux Carre."

"New Orleans is a city of paradox. Sin, salvation, sex, sanctification, so intertwined yet so separate. The blurred lines from the dark blue of Mardi Gras night to the periwinkle of Ash Wednesday morning," is the way Connick summarizes the gritty and grandiose, soulful and magical Crescent City, where the mu...

Legendary DJ and radio personality Casey Kasem will release a new CD featuring 20 of the most popular songs from his signature radio feature The Long Distance Dedications on January 23. The disc, Casey Kasem Presents: The Long Distance Dedications spans multiple genres and includes some of the biggest names in music: Elton John, Whitney Houston, Cher, Lionel Richie, Louis Armstrong, The Righteous Brothers, Amy Grant, Joe Cocker, Lee Ann Womack, Sarah McLachlan, Phil Collins, Commodores, Chicago and many others. It arrives in stores on January 23, 2007, (Top Sail Productions/WEA) and is the...

With their new studio album, The Ten Tenors bring the house lights up on the Academy Award® winning-career of film soundtrack icon John Barry and his celebrated lyricist, Don Black. For this special project, a 90-piece orchestra and percussion section backed the popular Australian vocal group for an album dedicated to some of Barry and Black's most poignant scores.

With Barry serving as executive producer, the album's 12 tracks were recorded in the main studio at the legendary Abbey Road studios with Grammy®-winning producer Simon Franglen at the helm. The Ten Tenors' voices mesh seaml...

Happy Birthday to Happy Birthday to Disney Channel twins Cole and Dylan Sprouse (1992), NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (1971), actor Michael DeLuise (1970), "Lost" actor Daniel Dae Kim (1968), Houston Astros ace Roger Clemens (1962), film star Billy Bob Thornton (1955), "Law & Order: SVU" actor Richard Belzer (1944), American composer William Schuman (1910; d. 1992), and trumpet legend Louis Armstrong (1901; d. 1971).

"One of the most brilliant pianists in the history of jazz, [his] prodigious technique and unparalleled swing makes him a master in every style… from boogie and stride to bebop and beyond." - BBC Radio 3

Universally acclaimed musician jazz pianist Oscar Peterson returns to the UK to play a series of three rare concerts - London Royal Albert Hall on Thursday June 29, Liverpool Big Top Arena on Saturday July 1, and Birmingham Symphony Hall on Monday July 3.

All three UK concerts will be performed as a quartet featuring Ulf Wakenius (guitar), David Young (bass) and Alvin Queen (drums...

Movie music fans rejoiced in 1995 when Turner Classic Movies Music and Rhino Movie Music partnered for an exhaustive five disc collection featuring indelible musical performances from MGM's golden age. A decade and more than 200 classic movie soundtrack releases later, Turner/Rhino revisits the centerpiece of its successful ongoing partnership to create a truly definitive collection of MGM musical magic.

"That's Entertainment!" The Ultimate Anthology of MGM Musicals" expands the original landmark release with an entire disc of never-before-released music, and uses new technology to up...

Responding to the overwhelming outpouring of support from musicians, writers and producers, EMI Group, SONY BMG, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Concord Music Group along with the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network

and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today announced the addition of new artists and songs to complete the double CD multi-artist benefit album Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now. The collection will feature new recordings and classic cuts from more than 80 artists and 35 songs, spanning a variety of generations and genres, and will be released N...